1. Field of Invention
The invention concerns a system for changing sleeves that can be pushed onto ink transfer roller cores.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In different printing machines, the complete ink transfer rollers that participate in the printing process need not be changed when the printing machine, for example, must be set up for a subsequent order. Such printing machines are often equipped with ink transfer roller cores mounted on one end, at least during setup. Sleeves, which carry the actual print motif, can be pushed onto these cores and removed from them again. Several sleeves can then be pushed one above the other, in which the inner sleeves are referred to as adapter sleeves. Ink transfer rollers, in the context of the invention, are to be understood to mean all rollers that transport a fluid necessary for printing in the printing process, especially printing ink. In flexographic printing, these are the anilox rollers and the format cylinders carrying the print motifs.
The sleeves of the ink transfer rollers can be very heavy and must sometimes be pushed at great height onto the corresponding cores. The Patent Application of the applicant, DE 101 12 522 A1, therefore proposes to use a magazine with sleeve mounting devices designed as support cores for transport of the cores of the printing machine. This magazine is equipped with wheels, so that it can be moved without other technical aids. The magazine can be connected laterally to a lifting platform, so that it can be raised and lowered with it. With this system, a sleeve can be raised to the level of the ink transfer roller, on which the sleeve is to be pushed. Likewise, a sleeve mounting device can be raised to the level of an ink transfer roller set up with a sleeve, in order to be able to remove the sleeve from the ink transfer roller core and transported away.
Another such system can be deduced from the Patent Application of the applicant, DE 102 23 414 A1, in which the magazine can be connected to a travel device. With this travel device, the magazine can be moved in the vertical and/or horizontal direction, in order to be able to position a sleeve mounting device of the magazine relative to the printing machine, so that the axis of the sleeve, when supported by the sleeve mounting device, is flush with the axis of the ink transfer roller core being setup or removed. In a variant of the magazine depicted there, the sleeve mounting devices are movable relative to the magazine. For this purpose, the sleeve mounting devices are arranged on a disk that can be rotated within the magazine.
The disk can be rotated by a motor fastened in the magazine frame, in order to be able to position the sleeve mounting devices with reference to the ink transfer roller cores.
Since several magazines are often used to set up a printing machine, equipping each magazine with a drive leads to high overall costs.